The Minister for Health has defended Dr Tony Holohan's new job amid confusion over how much money he being paid.
The Chief Medical Officer will step down from his role in the summer to join Trinity College as Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership on July 1.
However, Holohan will remain a civil servant and his €187,000 a year public service salary will be paid by the Department of Health.
Read more: Dr Tony Holohan's €187,000 salary for new role at Trinity College to be paid by Department of Health
Speaking to RTE Morning Ireland on Wednesday, Minister Donnelly labelled it a "positive move" for the country.
He said: "It's a really positive move. What Dr Holohan is going to be doing now is leading up research in Trinity on what in healthcare is going to be one of the most important areas of research we have for years.
"Dr Holohan could, if he wanted, stay in his role of CMO and the Department of Health for many years to come. He's done an excellent job, there's very broad support for the work he does."
Minister Donnelly defended the salary issue, saying that it wouldn't matter who is paying the wages of the new role.
He said: "The Department of Health and the country is going to benefit greatly out of this. What Tony is going to be doing in Trinity is leading national research on pandemic preparedness. He's probably uniquely qualified in the country given his role as CMO and everything he's done in the pandemic. He'll be organising collaborations across universities, with the WHO, the EU. It's incredibly important work.
"I think we're very lucky. Given his role and experience, he's a highly-employable individual. I think we're very lucky to have him leading this research"
When questioned by host Rachael English as to whether this meant that the department would be "paying for two CMOs", Minister Donnelly responded: "We're not. We need absolute clarity here
"There is one CMO, and there will be one CMO. What we have is the current CMO, who I think most people agree has done an outstanding job, he is stepping down as CMO and the department will be funding some of the most important health research that I think will be done in the coming years.
"If we break it down, let's say the department were to pay, or Trinity were to pay or they were to pay some each - it's all public money. It's a taxpayer-funded post.
"One of the details that's really important here is that he's not getting paid any more money. If Tony wanted to stay in the department for 20 years on his current contract, he would be perfectly entitled do that.
"He's staying on the same terms and conditions, but instead of that, we're moving to a really positive position where we'll have a new CMO come in and we have a guy who's uniquely qualified to lead research into future pandemic responsiveness. I really think this is a positive move."
READ MORE:Tony Holohan to stand down as Chief Medical Officer as he's given 'exciting' job at Trinity College
READ MORE:Tony Holohan praised for 'outstanding service' as he steps down as CMO after two decades
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